losel



June 24, 1924 1,498,662

F. LOSEL STEAM PLANT Filed April 7. 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 F. LC'JSEL June 24 1924.

5 TEAM PLANT Filed April '7. 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 24, 1924,

PATENT OFFICE.

FRANZ IDSEL, 0F BRUNN, CZECHOSLOVAKIA,

STEAM PLANT.

Application filed April 7, 1923. Serial No. 630,662.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANZ LosnL, a citizen of the Czechoslovakian Republic, and residing at 5 Glockengasse, Brunn, Czechoslovakia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in and Relating to Steam Plants (for which I have filed applications in Austria March 28, 1922; in Germany March 29, 1922; and in Czechoslovakia March 29, 1922), of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to variable demand steam generating plants.

The object of the present invention is to provide means, in the case of steam plant having a very variable consumption of high pressure steam, for relieving the boilers of these variations and to utilize the high pressure steam, which is at any time not required for working the high pressure engine, either for supplying the requisite amount of high pressure or low pressure steam required at the peak. According to the invention this problem is solved by the provision of a high pressure steam storage apparatus for taking up the excess of high pressure steam and for supplying the requisite high or low pressure steam at the peak, which storage apparatus consists of a vessel, which is not heated by the boiler furnace, and the steam and water space of which communicates with the steam and water space of the steam boiler and which is provided with arrangements for the supply of high pressure steam independently of the boiler. The high pressure storage vessel supplies the points of consumption of high pressure Steam (high pressure turbines) directly and covers their consump tion of high pressure steam at the peak It also permits of a perfectly economical utilination of the excess of boiler steam for covering the demand for low pressure steam by the high pressure steam taken from it (obtained from the excess boiler steam) being conveyed to any of the stages of turbine and being again taken in a known manner from any lower turbine stage.

For a better understai'iding of the invention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, wherein:

Fig. 1, is a diagrammatic view of a steam power plant embodying my invention,

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view of a modification thereof,

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view of a further modification, and

Fig. 4E is a diagrammatic view of a still further modification.

The steam plant according to Fig. 1 comprises a boiler K of any construction and a vessel V, which is not heated by the boiler furnace. In the example shown the boiler K and the vessel V each consist of an upper and a lower vessel 0 and a and b and a respectively. The water and steam spaces are connected to each other by pipes c and e, in each of which is included a re lating or cutting-off member d and f, which may be operated or controlled in any suitable manner. The feed water is supplied through a pipe 9, a three-way cock is and pipes h and 71, either simultaneously to the boiler K and the vessel V or only to one of the two as required.

The vessel V is arranged just as the steam producer proper K for having steam tapped off. The pipes p and g for this purpose convey the steam into superheaters or steam driers m, Z, from which pipes r and 8 lead to the point of consumption T for the high pressure steam, for instance to a steam turbine.

By means of the connecting pipes 0 and 'e the same or approximately the same pressure is maintained in the boiler K and the vessel V and an energetic exchange of heat between the two is obtained. The latter can be made still more effective by the water spaces or" the upper vessels 0 and 6 being also connected together, as for example by the communicating connection 0 in which is positioned a controlling valve cl.

When the plant is in normal operation, to which the economical capacity of the actual steam producer K is adapted, steam will flow only from the boiler K through the pipes 11 and r to the turbine Tf Shouldthe power required drop, when the boiler is working normally, and consequently the amount of high pressure steam required, the excess high pressure steam will flow from the boiler K without a drop in pressure through the pipe 6 to the vessel V and will be stored .in the water in the same. Should the amount of high pressure steam required be greater than the boiler K can supply alone Without overload, the excess amount required will be covered by re evaporation of thev-Jater from the vessel V. small drop in plGSSlllfG is suflicient to start re-evaporation of the stored hot Water in the accumulator V (which is not heated by fuel) and this re-evaporation functions to boost and supplement the supply of boiler pressure steam from the boiler to the steam consumption apparatus} The accumulator also supplies hot Water at boiler temperature to the boiler during high pressure pealr demand thereby facilitatin the evaporation in the fuel heate dvessei The vessel V, in Which the Water after a time almost reaches the temperature of the boiler Water, generated and hot Water heated by the boiler, thus acts as a storage vessel for both excess high. pressure steam and servesthepurpose of assisting in supplying the amount or high pressure steam required atthepeak. Thevessel V can also perform its function as a high pressure steam accumulator, When the Water contained by it hasireached the temperature of the boiler Water, by the supply of fresh Water to the storage vessel V; in this case tiie heat of the steam, which flOWS in is consumed in heat ing the fresh Water up to boiler temperature When the plant is'opera-ting in t/his iYlilill'l by closing the valves d and (2, the most suitable Water level can be maintained in the vessel K, While a higher level is main-- tained'inthe storage vessel V.

When the boiler and accumulator units are operating in unison as above described to meet, peak demands for high pressure steam at least. one of the valves (Z and 6!" must be open and preferably both of them. The valve may be also open under these conditions. W hen, however. the accumu a tor unit V is required to sup 1y demands for steam at lower pressures than boiler pressur all these heat energy interchange coiuiecti 1 including valves d, cl and 7 should be closee, andunder these cond'tions the temneratm rapidly than that in the vessel K, v this period no heat is conveyed to the storvcssel (valves (Z, d and closed) and the evaporating heat be taken froxti the Water of the high pressure storage V62 sel. V. OWingto this drop in the tempera ture of the vvater in the vessel V, the new will become particularly capable to store the excess of high pressure steam during a subtemperature of the boiler Water to any considerable extent and immediately after a period, during which the amount of steam required is above the average, the boiler will be capable of delivering high pressure saturated steam. i

For the period, Where the amount oil steam required is above the average, the vessel V acts as a second independent steam producer and the Whole steam producing plant immediately adapts itself to the increase in the amount of steam required, just as if a second steam boiler were con nected up, and With an economy peculiar only to applicants system wherein the total fuel energy is supplied in the constantly and efficiently burning fire under the boiler unit. The fact that the storage vessel V can only deliver saturated. or Wet steam is provided for by introducing a superheater on into the pipe 9.

The applicants system including the high pressure storage vessel V has the particular advantage that the amount of low. pressure steam required, more particularly at the peak can be supplied in an economical manner Without its being. necessary to provide special lOW pressure storage vessels. The excess boiler steam and hot vater are stored in the high pressure storagevessel V and this stored energy may bechanged to steam by re-evaporation and supplied by Way of the turbine T to the points of consumption for low pressure steam, assisted if desired by the boiler unit. The supply of high pressure steam from the storage vessel and boiler to the points of consumption for low pressure steam takes place as indicated by. the arrows a: and 3 at any stages of the turbine. In this manner the pressure of the high pressure steam is reduced by performing Work in T to the pressure required in any case. The steam lines 1 and a are indicated as leading to different points of a turbine T.

The principle of supplying the amount of lovv pressure steam required by the exhaust steam from the engine or the like or by drawing off steam from a low pressure stage of the tnr'i'iine is already known, As, however, there was no high pressure steam storage apparatus, the EXCESS of high pressure steam had to be collected in the low pressure storage vessel a reduction of pressure anda considerable loss in entropy and could therefore not be used in the same economical manner as is the case aecording to the present invention. 7'

The arrangement y, la, 72, 2' (Fig; 1) for the independent supply of the steam boiler K and the vessel V with feed Water acts in the following manner according to the requirements in each case:--VVhen there is a perfect balance between the output of the boiler K and the steam consumption, the

fresh water is only fed into the boiler; when the vessel V is to act intensively as a steam producer the fresh water is either shut off entirely or fed only to boiler K; and according as the .vessel is to be used more or less intensively as a storage vessel, the fresh water'is only supplied to the vessel V or simultaneously to both V and the vessel K. In the case of supply only to accummulator V the feed water is conveyed to the boiler K by way of the vessel V.

In the constructional form of the invention, as shown in Fig. 2, there is a single vessel V for a plurality of vessels K, while Fig. 3 shows a modification, in which a number of vessels K are combined with a number of vessels V. In both cases the vessels V and the boiler K are interconnected in the same manner as in Fig. 1 and they can be put relatively into and out of operation by valves provided in the connecting pipes. In the constructional form shown in Fig. 4:, the vessel V, which is not heated by the boiler fire, is located below the boiler K. In Fig. 2 .2 represents a valve in the steam line 9. In Fig. 3, T and T are employed to indicate directions of supply of steam independently from the boilers K and the accumulators V respectively to steam consumption apparatus. In Fig. 4 e and 2 represent regulation valves.

By combining a high pressure storage vessel with a boiler of any type, for instance a tubular boiler, according to the present invention the advantages of a boiler having a large water space are obtained, without sacrificing the advantages of the paticular type of boiler and for a short time even the advantages of two steam boilers, as the vessel V can act as an independent steam producer. As a further advantage an economical utilization of the excess of boiler steam is also obtained, namely, the supply of the amount of low pressure steam required at the peak, and the well known low pressure storage apparatus are not required, which for the same capacity must be larger than high pressure steam storage vessels.

VVh-at I claim is i. In a variable demand steam generating system, a boiler unit capable of generating and supplying the mean steam demand, an accumulator unit, independent water and steam flow communicating connections be tween the accumulator unit and the boiler unit through which interchange of water and steam is efiected in either direction and the water and steam spaces of the accumulator unit are maintained substantially at the temperature and pressure respectively of the water and steam spaces of the boiler, independent steam supply connections leading from the boiler and accumulator units respectively and control devices in each of the communicating connections for regulating the interchange of energy between the units and closing the connections for independent operation of the boiler and accumulator units.

2; In a variable demand steam generating system, a boiler unit capable of generating and supplying a mean steam demand, an accumulator unit having water and steam spaces which are maintained substantially at the temperature and pressure respectively of the water and steam spaces of the boiler unit by interchange of both water and steam, interchange connections between the water and steam spaces of the boiler and the accumulator through which both hot boiler water and boiler pressure steam is stored in the accumulator and returned to the system, independent steam supply connections lead ing from the boiler unit and the accumulator unit, and control devices in each of the in terchange connections for interrupting the interchange of water and steam between the units whereby the accumulator unit operates in unison with the boiler unit to supply steam of boiler unit pressure to steam consumption apparatus when the interchange connections are open and operates independently thereof to supply steam at a lower pressure than boiler pressure to steam consumption apparatus when the interchange connections are closed.

3. In a variable demand steam generating system, a boiler unit capable of generating and supplying the mean steam demand, an accumulator unit having water and steam spaces which are maintained substantially at the temperature and pressure respectively of the water and steam spaces of the boiler by interchange of both water and steam, interchange connections between the water and steam spaces of the boiler and the accumulator through which both hot boiler water and boiler pressure steam are stored in the accumulator and returned. to the system, independent steam supply connections leading from the boiler unit and the accumulator unit, control devices in each of the interchange connections for closing the same and water supply connections for supplying feed water independently to either the boiler or the accumulator unit or both [simultaneously.

4, In a variable demand steam generating system, a boiler unit capable of generating and supplying the mean steam demand, an accumulator unit having water and steam spaces which are maintained substantially at the temperature and pressure respectively of the water and steam spaces of the boiler unit by interchange of both water and steam, interchange connections between the water and steam spaces of the boiler and the accumulator through which bot-h hot boiler 

